BUTCHIE

School 7, Belleville, N.J.

Can you believe that little kid?
He got all the way here
fighting, fussing and dragging
and sits in a class stupid
as if the world around him
has been replaced by fools.
They talk in gibberish fluently
but only to each other
and often in his direction.
And these adults are puzzled
at the boy’s every word.
This school is supposed to have
smart people and teachers
but how smart can they be
if they can’t understand
a few words from little Angelo?
The boy who speaks only
his mother and father’s tongue
who never knew his full name
until this first day at school.

- By Anthony Buccino
from SIXTEEN INCHES ON CENTER
Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.